Remote education provision: information for parents

Remote education provision: information for parents
 

This information helps pupils, parents and carers to understand what to expect from Whitelands Park’s remote education, where there is a national or local restriction that means; whole school, year groups, bubbles or individuals need to stay at home.
 

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.
 

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
 

A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.
 

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
 

In the first day of remote education, children will have access to Google Classroom on which teachers will post a maths lesson, an English lesson, an additional ‘Topic’ based activity (this could be a lesson that has science, history, geography, PSHE or D&T) and a Current Affairs activity, “Picture News”.
 

Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
 

At Whitelands, wherever possible, we match the curriculum posted online with the lessons taking place in school.

• Maths and English lessons cover the same curriculum objectives taught in school
• At Whitelands some subjects (history, geography, science) are taught in topics which forms the school’s Cornerstones Curriculum. Topic lessons are created by teachers using the same Cornerstones Curriculum so that all of the concepts and facts covered at home in class will be the same as in school. Some of the activities may need to be adapted so that they can run at home.
• Music and Art lessons are designed by our specialist teachers so that they match in content (adaptations may be made to take account of resources at home).
• Additional activities are posted to include MFL (junior children), PSHE, and Problem Solving.
• In Early Years we follow an adapted EYFS curriculum and activities reflect these areas. Particular focus; Communication and Language, Physical Development, Mathematics, Phonics and early reading.
  
  The resources are designed to be practical and also provide activities that can be self-initiated in line with the Foundation Stage Scheme of learning.
  
  On a weekly basis lessons would be set as the table below:
   

Remote teaching and study time each day
 

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
 

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:
 

Accessing remote education
 

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
 

Whitelands Park uses Google Classroom, an online platform that allows children to view, complete and submit tasks and receive public or private feedback from teachers on their learning.
 

All pupils have an individual log-in which maps to their assigned classwork and this is differentiated so that children can only see the work allocated to them. This resource is the ‘Home page’ to all activities, signposting children to other online content that the school provides for additional opportunities.
 

Because teachers are regularly reviewing pupils work they will see how successful children are in their submissions and can adapt feedback and activities to take account of this. However we encourage children and parents to let us know if they are finding things too hard. Teachers will have regular contact with all children, but this is increased where children need more support.
 

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
 

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

Whitelands has allocated sufficient devices to families to ensure that all children have a device of their own to complete online remote education.
 

Where needed, this has been extended to internet access using mobile hotspot technology.
 

In the event of any future lockdown, this bank of resources will be re-allocated to ensure full access.
 

All devices have been configured for Google Classroom and the child who is working with them.
 

We are also aware that some households will not have resources that a school would have, where possible we have adapted activities or provided things for children to use – e.g. Paper, stationery. This means that no child is disadvantaged and everyone can complete the tasks set.

How will my child be taught remotely?
 

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
 

• Lessons are a mixture of sessions using video, online query and PowerPoint slides
• Each Year group has at least one daily Zoom lesson. This can form a variety of functions:

• An introduction to the learning of the week
• A lesson starter
• A chance for the teacher to feedback on some really good work
• A whole class/group phonics session
• A story/song to be shared
• A touch point where children get to work together.

• There is the use of The Oak Academy – (an online video lesson resource designed by the DfE).  White Rose resources, video resources from our Cornerstones Curriculum, BBC Bitesize. 
• Lessons that are taught in Whitelands by specialist teachers (Music and Art ) have weekly tasks – and these are set up, monitored and marked by those teachers.
• During the school day, there is a teacher from each year group available and responding to children’s questions and queries.

In addition, children have access to Online resources that the school provides as subscriptions for children, these include : Reading Eggs, TTR, West Berks Library, Accelerated Reader, Numbots.
 

Engagement and feedback
 

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
 

• We know that each family is different with its own pressures, so we have not set a formal timetable for each day; however, we have the daily zoom session to help parents structure the day where needed.
• We are regularly reminding parents and children that;

• there is always a teacher monitoring their Year group’s class work on Google Classroom where children can post questions (privately or for the whole class)
• emails direct to Headteacher or Office should be sent as soon as possible if there is a small issue so that we can help resolve problems
• We know that children learn differently and so we encourage parents to help children to complete tasks in whatever order or style they can
   

We know that there are plenty of distractions for the children at home, anything you can do, as parents, to support the education of your children will help them - both in that specific learning and to help them to see how you value learning and education.
 

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
 

Teachers will check Google classroom throughout the day checking engagement with learning and providing useful feedback. Teachers record who attends Zoom Meetings and who has submitted work.
 

Where it appears that engagement is low, teachers will contact children first by Google Classroom, then by a phone call home. Here they will discuss whether there is a problem and to see if support can be provided to improve the amount of work completed.
 

Where there continues to be a problem, the Head teacher or Deputy Headteacher will contact parents to see how they can help to provide any further assistance or resolve any issues.
 

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?
 

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:
 

• Teachers ask children to submit the work by uploading photos or documents to their Google Classroom in the Classwork section. Teachers write comments against all work submitted This way children get private feedback from their teacher.
• Our Teachers are online between 9.00am and 3.15pm communicating with the children and providing feedback on work that was set. Work uploaded after 3.15pm will be marked on the following day.
• Some of the activities that children are set will include quizzes to give children immediate feedback on their answers.
   

Additional support for pupils with particular needs
 

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?
 

We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and Carers to support those pupils in the following ways:
 

• All children have access to an appropriate device for them to complete the tasks assigned to them
• Because Google Classroom is personalised, teachers can assign differentiated tasks for groups of children including those with SEND. These tasks are monitored by the SENDCo to make sure they are a ‘good fit’ for each child.
• All children with an EHCP have been invited to attend school where their outcomes and provision will remain the same. Where children are at home, tasks provided are designed to address their needs. Outcomes have been adapted for parents to support their child in the home setting.
• The school SENDCo will check-in with parents of all children with SEND who are not in school via telephone to see how things are going and whether any further support is required.
   

Remote education for self-isolating pupils
 

Where individual pupils need to self-isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school. However we will use Google Classroom to post activities. This will include daily activities in Maths and English linked to the learning taking place in class. There will be another daily activity so that across a school week children will have sessions in Topic, PSHE, Art and Music.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?
 

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

• Teachers will allocate videos from Oak Academy or another suitable alternative such as White Rose for Maths for lessons where appropriate.
• Every day children will be provided with work to complete a Maths and English lesson.
• A lesson for each foundation subject that would have been taught in school will be assigned for each week. 
• For Pupil Premium children within Year 6 each child will receive a pack of CGP workbooks and revision guides.

What happens if my child is ill and can’t engage in the learning remotely ?
 

We are always working to ensure that children’s engagement is the best that it can be, but from time to time this may dip because of illness. When the school is contacted in a situation like this, all relevant staff will be contacted to let them know. That way you will not be caught up with staff unnecessarily asking you about non-completion of work. We will always seek to stay in touch, so that, if possible, we will be keen to keep contact with all children.